The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-04-27
DARINGlSEAMEN.
A sail of Ten Thousand Miles In an Open
Boat.

A SAIL Of Ten Thousand Miles In an Open
Boat.
Pail Mall Budget.
The Homeward Bound lay at rest in
Dover Harbor after her ten months toss
ings in two oceans, weather-wOrn
cockle-shell, sea-stained and barnacle
covered. 1t was Sunday, and the little
boat was hung with streamers OF bunt-
ing, their bright colors contrasting oddly
with the wO-begone appea -ance of the
hull. The day was brilliantly fine, and
there was "A constant stream OF visitors
to see the Homeward Bound after her
adventurous voyage; The captain was
at home, and he hailed to me to come
aboard, which did with some difficulty,
for the Homeward Bound is not an or
binary craft, but canvaS-cOvered and
crank as a bit of cork.
The crew consists Of Capt. Nilsson, his
brother, and blacksmith, one Olsen,
who a couple of years ago were working
together at little settlement in the Or
ange Free State. The Captain, who had
been at sea for many years previously,
had a store a blacksmith's shop, q few
horses, and a bit of land; and his brother
and Olsen We're in his employment,
They had often discussed the question
whether it was possible for
an open boat to weather the
towering winter waves off the Cape of
Good Hope, and trade not being over
prosperous they determined to try their
luck. They had their boat to build,
which was, not an easy matter $50 miles
inland, without proper materials and
tools to- work with, and some Of the diff
culties the men Overcame remind one of
Robinson Crusoe's attempt to make a
boat cut of a tree.
For instance, the bent wood nee
essary for the construction of the hull
had to- be sawed out of square timber, an
operation which necessarily delayed the
work. This is only one instance. How
ever. after time, the little boat was
ready to be be put ON an ox-wagon. its
length having indeed, been regulated by
the length of that conveyance, and from
UitzieshOek she was carried over Ora
kensberg, nearly 5000 feet above the sea
level, down to the sea at Durham. By
the time she was fitted out she had cost
between f200 and $500.
Before giving a few details of one of
the most adventurous voyages that were
ever undertaken by men, may describe
the arrangements of the HOmeward
Bound. She is 20 feet long, has a beam
of fe<V6 inches, and draws Al feet of
water. She is At tons burden, and her
rigging consists of a mainmast, with gait
and beam: carrying mainsail and gaff-
topsail, with TWO jibs, or one fOresail and
one jib. After the trip from Port Natal
to Table Bay topmast was added, and
the Captain made other sails-a square
sail for running, a square tOpsail for fine
weather, and in the trade winds st IN
sails We're put out ON both sides. LuLlps
of granite and sandbags were used for
ballast, and seven 2O-gallon casks of fresh
water We're slowed away below the main
deck, each barrel being filled with salt
water as the fresh water was finished 1t
must be understood that tine boat is an
open boat in the sense that il is little
more than a shell covered over with a
thin canvas deck, well oiled, and divided
into two air-tight compartments-a small
one aft for slowing the provisions, spare
sails and other material separated by a
we'll. feet wide by 2 feet O inches deep
feet inches long, from the larger pOr-
ton forward.
This was used as q cabin and general
storeroom. and a very extraordinary lit
tie hole it ia to be the home Of three bi z
man for ten months. Ii is entered from
the well which have described through
IA small sliding-door, through which /
crawled with great difficulty. This is
what i saw: To begin with, the height is
about : feet inches, so that it is impOs-
sible to sit up, and there in only room for
two of the crew to lie down, the third
man being at the helm. Some blankets
rotten with salt water, covered the floor.
and coats, oilskins, trousers, boots and
shirts were piled up ON either side. The
cabin is lighted by little window about
foot long and six inches wide. The
compass IL inside, the man at the helm
being able to see the needle from above.
A little aueroid barometer is nailed up
close To the lamp. The other dunnage
was a curious mixture of odds and ends.
such as sextant, a little mahogany sea-
chest, strings of candles, breadbags.
rusty scissors, knives. forks and spoons
stuck into the beams overhead, billies
and pannikins, fishing lines, log glass,
fog horn, charts and many other articles
too numerous to mention. Imagine this
stuffy little hole in the tropics with the
sun overhead. and not a breath of wind;
or IN hurricane with great seas beating
down ON the canvas overhead, and driv-
ing the frail craft almost out of sight
BY their weight In the hot weather the
deck was kept cool by buckets of water.
but in bad weather the door was gener-
ally Kept open. and so well did she ride
the gales that only about half dozen
times was it found necessary to shut the
doorway. If the well filled, as it some
times did, the man at the helm gave it a
jerk and let as much water out as posi-
Die, and then all hands turned to and
baied. The men have suffered much
from want of exercise, for the well was
their only exercise ground: and l have
given the dimensions of that already
The galley stood here, little paraffine
stove, IN which everything was cooked
They had ample supplies of tea, coffee
few bottles of rum for medicinal pur.
poses, sugar. biscuit. flour, and an infin
lite variety of timed meats. vegetables
and potatoes, running short sometimes
but getting fresh supplies at one Of ths
four ports at which they touched.
Ii WAS intensely interesting to heal
Capt. Wilson's account of the trip. III,
is Norwegian who speaks very gool
English. is passed merchant captain
who has been weathering storms fo
twenty years in every part of the globe
who has fought in the Zulu war an.
holds certificate from Baker. Of Ba
kers Horse, for his services during tn
Basuto war. With such a fine fellow
for skipper it is not surprising that tn
Homeward Bound reached British wa
tiers after her desperate voyage. Tn
Captain had taken out his papers from
very moist portmanteau ON board, bu
We adjourned to his lodgings and exam
ined it's contents at leisure, for the crow
was little curious, and the cabin wa
not exactly the place for an interview
Every bit OF paper was endued with
romantic halo. There was all name
of MYSTERIOUS packets done up in scrap
of old newspapers. certificates, mail pa
pers, note books and photographs. Blu
the book WAS the most interesting
item in the collection, for Capt Nilsol
has had a careful training, and his log
book has been kept in a most minut
manner.
In this voyage the crew was divide
into two watches the CAPTAIN takin
the first four hours, the other two tAkin
the next four. and 80 on. They s0ffere
much from want OF sleep, the longe<
nuSell b>ainSx fhrsa .iaus a nd fhrsas nisxhf 4,